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April, 2005 marked the fifth anniversary of a deadly episode of youth violence, which claimed fifteen lives and left many more physically and emotionally scarred. On April 20, 1999, two students at Columbine High School in Colorado, killed thirteen people and then turned the guns on themselves. Although there have unfortunately been several other horrific acts of violence perpetrated by youth in schools, the Columbine tragedy marks a major turning point in the study of youth violence because prior to Columbine, the focus was mostly on one-on-one violence perpetrated by youth. Since Columbine, experts have begun to expand their efforts to include research on the causes of indiscriminate youth violence. What characteristics predispose certain youth to be violent? What warning signs, if any, can parents, teachers, and the community be on the lookout for? What can, and is, being done to help at-risk youth who have been showing tendencies towards violent behavior? It should be stated at the outset that the general reference to “youth” in this article most certainly includes Muslim youth in the United States.
Born Violent or Became Violent?
The unanswered question regarding youth violence is whether certain youth are predisposed genetically to being violent or whether their violent behavior is learned—a reaction to the social context in which they are raised. Of course, as with so many of the other nature versus nurture debates, a general answer to this question is that some children are born with violent tendencies and yet others learn antisocial and violent behavior as a result of their surroundings. For Muslims, the nature part of this debate implies unwavering recognition that it is Allah Who is the Creator and whatever characteristics manifest themselves in all of creation are attributed solely to Allah’s wisdom. The Qur’an says states unequivocally that,
[By the soul, and the proportion, and order given to it; And its enlightenment as to its wrong (fujur) and its right (taqwa); Truly, he succeeds that purifies it, And he fails that corrupts it!] (Al-Qadr 91:7-10)
Allah Most High has endowed human beings with the faculty of discernment such that every soul has been shown its potential inclination towards fujur and taqwa. The verses continue by emphasizing that those souls succeed which incline towards self-purification and taqwa and those souls fail which incline towards self-corruption and fujur.
The Prophetic teaching concerning the notion of fitrah, which attributes a pure state of being to the child at birth, is helpful in negating any assertions that human beings should be burdened with being sinful from birth onwards. In essence, Muslims understand that because of the notion of fitrah, every child is born free of sin and is inclined to struggle throughout his or her life to remain free of sin. Ultimately however, every human being is held accountable for his or her actions upon achieving the age of maturity, that is at puberty. So if a child was to incline towards violent behavior and there was some proof that the child was genetically predisposed to it, even then, the responsibility for the sinful and violent behavior rests solely with the child.
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Thus, parents have a responsibility to socialize their children to be peaceful and civil beings, especially in the case of children who, it seems, are genetically predisposed to antisocial and potentially violent behavior. Indeed, so many of the Prophetic teachings admonish peaceful and civil conduct, but it is helpful to cite only a few here. Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that, “Some people asked Allah's Apostle, ‘Whose Islam is the best? That is, who is a very good Muslim?’ He replied, ‘One who avoids harming the Muslims with his tongue and hands.’” (Al-Bukhari, 2:10). In another instance, we learn from Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that, “Allah's Apostle said, ‘The strong is not the one who overcomes the people by his strength, but the strong is the one who controls himself while in anger’” (Al-Bukhari, 73:135).
Recent advances in the study of the brain’s development are allowing some researchers to focus their attention on the notion of discernment and exercising judgment as mentioned above. The research shows that certain risky and impulsive behavior in youth is a direct result of the fact that their brain is still developing and will not develop fully until adulthood. In a Time magazine article in mid 2004, Temple University psychologist Laurence Steinberg is quoted as saying that “the parts of the brain responsible for things like sensation seeking are getting turned on in big ways around the time of puberty, but the parts for exercising judgment are still maturing throughout the course of adolescence” (Wallis)
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In late 2004, the National Institutes of Health co-sponsored the State-of-the-Science Conference on Preventing Violence and Related Health-Risking Social Behaviors in Adolescents, along with the National Institute of Mental Health, the Office of Medical Applications of Research, and other federal agencies. Kaplan, in her report on the conference, quotes Benjamin B. Lahey, PhD, professor of psychiatry, chief of psychology at the University of Chicago, and a panelist at the conference, as stating that "clearly, different experiences and circumstances are profoundly important in determining which children will grow up to be violent, but so are some characteristics of those individuals in childhood" (Kaplan). According to Lahey and the other researchers, “these characteristics include male gender, lower intelligence, delayed language development, low resting heart rate, specific personality traits, and gene-environment interactions and correlations.” (Kaplan). While parents are obviously aware of the environment in which the child is being raised, researchers note that a more difficult task is for parents to serve as prevention tools by looking out for warning signs.
Warning Signs
Back on April 20, 1999, everyone who heard the news of Columbine would ask, didn’t anyone see this coming? Weren’t there any warning signs? While many people speculated and proffered explanations as to why Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold turned into killing machines before turning the guns onto themselves, we may never really know the actual reasons for the horror that unfolded in Littleton on that fatal April morning. Writing a few months after the tragedy, Dave Cullen attempted to point out just how wrong the speculations were and stated this in the sub-heading, “The truth may be scarier than the myths.” (Cullen)
After interviewing the main investigator assigned to the case, Cullen writes that it can be conclusively stated that, “the attack Harris and Klebold launched April 20 was planned as a suicide mission, driven by indiscriminate hate, and intended to wipe out most of their suburban school. Their hatred was boundless, often ludicrous.” The question then remains about how youth turn into beings capable of harboring indiscriminate hate. What should parents, schools and communities be on the lookout for?
Betty Yung, Director of the Center for Child and Adolescent Violence Prevention at the Wright State School of Professional Psychology, stresses the critical and central role that parents can serve by being on the lookout for certain warning signs. (Doty) The same article states that parents should not wait until later childhood years, but should take note of “frequent and prolonged temper tantrums in toddlers or preschoolers, coupled with an inability to be calmed by parents or caregivers.” The author goes on to say that as the child enters school, more obvious signs could be, “frequent physical fighting with other school children; violence toward animals; frequent victimization by bullies; and making friends with other children known to be aggressive.”
A Final Word
There has been a dramatic rise in youth violence in the last few decades, and this violence is much more indiscriminate and for far different reasons than violence in earlier decades, which was limited to one-on-one altercations escalating into violent behavior. As researchers attempt to pinpoint further the reasons why some youth become violent, there is sufficient evidence that violence can be prevented if parents, schools, and communities exert energy and attention to look for warning signs. Interestingly enough, adolescent violent behavior is often associated with living in conditions of poverty. While there are some possible parallels to be drawn between poverty and violence, researchers are looking for alternate explanations that are more focused on the family structure itself.
For example, in one study, the authors suggest that the presence of a residential and biological father during the early years of childhood reduces the likelihood of violent behavior in adolescence and even as the sons grow into adulthood (Mackey) In that study, data from across the United States indicated that an absent father served as a stronger predictor of violent behavior in young men more than poverty did.
Finally, this brief review of some explanations for the dramatic rise in youth violence serves as a starting point for a more consistent and serious dialog. Cullen notes that “schools, parents, and communities can work to combat racism, or anti-Christian prejudice, or the schoolyard cruelty that might lead students to seek revenge against jocks, but fighting against indiscriminate hate is much thornier.” The current climate in the U.S. is highly anti-Islamic and Muslim parents, schools, and communities must be on the lookout for not only Muslim youth who could be victims of indiscriminate hate and violence, but, unfortunately, must also be on the lookout for Muslim youth who, out of desperation, might retaliate, and themselves become purveyors of the violence. There is a lot more to be learned about youth violence, but perhaps the most critical lesson is that parents, schools, and communities have a critical and central role in preventing such violence.
Sources:
- Cullen, Dave. (1999). “Inside the Columbine High investigation: Everything you know about the Littleton killings is wrong. But the truth may be scarier than the myths.” Salon magazine, Sept. 23, 1999. Available at: http://www.salon.com/news/feature/1999/09/23/columbine
- Doty, Richard “Wright State Expert on Violence Prevention in Children Says Parents Should Look for Danger Signs.” Ascribe newswire, February 16 2005.
- Kaplan, Arline. “Youth Violence Prevention Conference Explores Risk Factors, Interventions” 2004. Available at: http://psychiatrictimes.com.
- Mackey, Wade C. and Immerman, Ronald S. “The Presence of the Social Father in Inhibiting Young Men's Violence.” Mankind Quarterly. Spring/Summer2004. Vol. 44 Issue 3/4, p.28.
- Wallis, Claudia. “What Makes Teens Tick.” Time magazine, May 10, 2004, pp. 56-65.
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